CD Reviews

Red Hot Thrash Metal!

Jpatrick Woods | 05/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Detritus is a metal band from England that broke up over twelve years ago. They only released two albums - PERPETUAL DEFIANCE, and IF BUT FOR ONE. This is a Christian metal band, but the music is so raw its easy to forget that at times. I walked into a Christian bookstore and bought this for the first time about 12 years ago when the band broke up. Somehow it got lost(stupid me), and have not been able to obtain another copy until just a few weeks ago. Yup, this album is hard to find and you will notice its selling for a large sum of cash. There is only one good reason for that. This album is simply one of the best thrash metal albums I have ever heard. I would give it ten stars if there were such a thing. They are out of print now, so like I said - the unique stuff usually sells for alot. The first track on the album entitled "Masquarade" totally tore my head off! It starts out with an acoustic guitar at the begining playing a folky riff with a bluesly lead guitar riding on top of it. Nothing to get excited about at first. And then......the drums kick in at full speed! The distortion is razor sharp, and the band launches into a full power thrash riff that would wake the dead. It sounds as though they are going to take over the world and they really want you to know it. Mark Broomhead(singer, bassist)has a great metal voice- sounding like James Hetfield and Nick Holms(Paridise Lost)at times - and yet he has a raw power all his own. These guys are a thrash band - yes, but don't think "Pantera". Detritus is not such a band. Heavy they are, but they are melodic as well. What I mean is, Mark B. actually sings. There are songs like, Blindly Rejected, that have a great melody. The song even has a saxaphone solo in it instead of a guitar solo. When was the last time you heard a thrash band do that? This may sound corny, but they make it work! Another song that comes to mind is "As it Rains". The song is heavy and yet Mark B. sings in a kind of English folk voice, giving the song a very melodic feel. Then right in the middle of this song, the band breaks down into a heavy slow - crunching - thrash riff, and the whole mood shifts from folk to a darker tone as Mark shouts angrily:

"Gaurdians fail!" "our ward is neglected, destroyed!"

Absolutly killer. Pure brilliance. The album leaves off with "subtle shades", a soft modern jazz peice with Mark's wocals reduced to a whisper. This is a two guitar band, and they are right in sync with each other. The drummer is amazing! Andy Bright is right in the pocket and some of the intro's he does to song's like "Father to Son" are kick ass! Overall, I would rate this album the best thrash album of all time. I'm sure there would be people who would dissagree with me, but I don't care. There are alot of thrash bands out there who get caught up in complexity and being technical - but not all that musical. Detritus guitar riffs are simple yet so tastefull and brilliant- and most importantly - heavy! This album does not have alot of guitar solo's - but by the time you get through listening to it, it won't matter. The structure of the songs, the rhythm's, and the heaviness are simply amazing. Each song on this album is , unique, and each one sounds different. Not one song on this record copies or duplicates another. It's almost worth thinking its good Detritus broke up, because they would have never been able to top this one. They came, they saw, they kicked ass! They said all they needed to say in twelve songs. I had a friend who once told me that Weezer should have retired after their first album because it was so good, they would never be able to top it. He was right. I feel the same way about this band. How do you top a masterpeice? You can't. After two albums, this band mysteriously dissapeared - leaving fans like me baffled as to whatever happened to them. I would love to talk to someone from England who actually knew these guys. Detritus is the perfect example as to why the best music never gets heard.

"

Amazing

J. Wiebe | 11/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was one of my all time favorite albums ever put out. I loved it passionately. I only wish I still had a copy of it."